The Biggest Decision When Buying A Mountain Bike
No one can deny the thrill of mountain biking. Riding and jumping a simple machine over the rockier parts of our planet can be exhilarating. Kids ask their parents to teach them how to ride a bike, because once you learn, you never forget. And they are quite simple machines, the most basic level requiring two wheels, a frame, and a gear set to make pedaling a little easier. They’re used for exercise, transportation, and just plain fun. Mountain biking is a specific form that’s become incredibly popular since the 80′s, and there are two brands to consider when buying mountain bike: Schwinn and Diamondback.
The Schwinn Bicycle company has been around for 115 years, founded back in 1895 by Ignaz Schwinn. The company was originally based in Chicago, and when it began it didn’t make much of a dent in the transportation market. Automobiles and motorcycles had recently become available, and most consumers preferred the fancier motorized vehicles over the occasionally strenuous pedaling necessary with a bike. The 1920′s, though, changed all that. The stock market crashed, and overnight most people didn’t have the money to maintain their automobiles. But these were still the traditional two-wheeled, single gear designs. A Schwinn mountain bike wouldn’t make its appearance until much later.
By the 1950′s, the Schwinn Bicycle Company had grown to dominate the bicycle industry. Unfortunately, this wasn’t to destined to last. In the 60′s and 70′s, Schwinn began to lose it’s hold over the bicycle market. Schwinn’s main claim to fame was the standard bicycle, but the public’s demand began to shift. Consumers wanted bikes catered to more specific forms of biking, like road racing or touring. Schwinn didn’t budge in its position, which led to financial trouble for the company.
Their position wasn’t helped when the management made a statement denouncing BMX racing as a dangerous sport. Without any bikes catered to the emerging market of BMX, Schwinn fell by the wayside in the 80′s and 90′s. In 2001, the company was finally sold to Pacific Cycles, though the parent company retained the brand name. It wasn’t until recently that a Schwinn mountain bike would appear in stores.
These days, there are two bicycles worth looking at when buying a mountain bike: Diamondback Bikes and Schwinn Bikes. Diamondback is a relative newcomer to the bicycle scene when compared to Schwinn, but they never had the troubles Schwinn came up against. Diamondback entered the market with a range of sports bikes, while Schwinn was wary of changing their tried and tested design.
There is one major question to consider when buying mountain bike, though, and it all depends on the terrain. The biggest decision you’ll have to make is hardtail or full suspension. A hardtail bike has the back wheel firmly secured to the frame, adding strong support, but can cause discomfort over rougher trails.
Full suspension mountain bikes solve this problem. The rear wheel is connected to the frame through a suspension device. This device allows the rear wheel to keep contact with the ground more often, supplying more pedaling power to the rider. Of course, the suspension also offers some cushioning on rough terrain. It’s a good idea to find your trails first, then decide on the bike you need.
